Store-service apparatus



(No Model.)

R. A. PARKER.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.-

Patented Dec.v 4, 1888,

flu/6215er:

No.v 393,785.

3 5 travels, it being passed through the tube A UNITED STATES PATENT flrticn,

RALZEMOND A. PARKER, F DETROIT, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNR TO IVILLIAM S. LAWSON, OF BOSTON, MASSAHI'SE'ITS.

STORE-SERVICE APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 393,785, dated December 4, 1888.

Application filed July 5, 1887. Serial No. 243,329. (No model.)

To c/,ZZ whom it may concern.'

Be itknown that l, RALZEMONDA. PARKER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Detroit, in the county of lVayne and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Store-Service Apparatus, of which the following; is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of storeservice apparatus denominated cash or par- 1o cel carriers, in which the carrier traveling on Y a wire way is propelled by the action of a spring; and the obj ect of my improvement is to furnish a device which shall be simple, cheap, and durable in construction, direct inits action, and operate with greater ease and certainty than those now in use. I attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side view of the entire mazo chine, including the carrier and Fig. 2 is a sectional view of 011e end of the carrier and interior mechanism thereof and connecting parts, drawn on a horizontal plane.

Similar letters refer t0 similar parts in the respective iigures.

In Figure l, A represents a tubular standard or bracket'vhich may be supported at the top and b0ttom,in any convenient manner,to the ceiling or side of the store. To this stand- 3o ard is attached by a flange attachment a tube, B, within which operates a plunger, E, the same being guided by holes through the side of. the tube A.

C Gis the wire upon which the carrier D and extended to any convenient point in the store, where it may be rigidly attached. The carriage D is 'constructed with suitable rollers and guides for traversing the wire C in 4o any of the usual forms. lts body consists, preferably, of a tube of the saine size as the tube D. Attached to this tube is the box or receptacle in which cash or parcels are to be car- Y ried, and about which there is nothing new. Within the tube D is placed a strong spiral spring, S. At either end of the tube this spring engages in a loosely-fitting piston, F, (shown in section `in Fig. 9,) and as both of these pistons are alike and the manner of confining them 5o in the carriage-tube is the same at either end I show but one olf them in the drawings, Fig. 2. These pistons are conlined and the spring compressed between them by means of adjustable screw-thimbles having both an eXterior and an interior iiange, the interior flange forming the abutment against which the piston F rests when the apparatus is not in operation, and the outer `liange forming a catch in which the springelatches vG G engage.

AThe spring-latches are pivoted to ears or 6o projections g g, Jformed upon the tube D. Upon these latches are formed lugs, which project through apertures into the tube B, approaching the plunger E. Upon the plunger E there is adjustably attached by means of a screw-thread the nut H, the otce ot which is to engage the lugs upon the latches G G when vthe plunger E is thrown forward, thereby compelling the release of the carriage D. The

-piston F is concave and so Jformed that at 7o its bottoni may be placed a cushion of telt, leather, or rubber, against which the plunger E will impinge, the 'concavity serving to guide and center the carriage and the plunger E.

Adjustably attached to the standard A is a frame-work, M M, projecting to the rear of the tube B. This lframe isadjustably attached by screw-threads and the jam-nuts m m m m, whereby the distance from itsv extreme L point to the tube A maybe adjusted. At the So farther end-from tube A of this framework there is pivoted the bars J J, and Vat the ex treme rear end of the plunger E there is also pivoted the two bars J J These bars J and J j, are pivoted together at their ends at V V all 8 5 of these bars being practically of an equal length. At the pivot V is attached a cord, which passes over a pulley, @attached to the upper joint, V, and thence downward to a handle, L. To the lowerjoint,V,is also att-ached 9o a weight, IV, the oliice of which is to return the bars J J substantially in the position shown in the drawings, thus retract-ing the plunger E.

The operation of this device is as follows: The car D, being against the mouth of Vthe tube B, is engaged bythe spring-latches G G and lirmly held in that position. The spring S in the car D separates the pistons F F, com pelling them to press with any assignable Ioo Ato pressure upon the abutment of the thimbles y tain than with the oi'dinary form heretofore ti'orniing the ends of the tube D of the car.

The operatoi' by pulling upon thc handle L brings toward each other the pivoted points l' the spi'ing S therein is necessarily eompressed until the adjustable nut ll upon the plunger E engages with the lugs ol' the springlatehes G l", thereby compellingl a release of the carriage, whereupon the reaction of the spring S against theplungei-E forces the carriage D along' the wire with a torce proportioned lo the strength of the spring and the adjustment ot' the apparatus.

It is obvious that the ett'eet of the operation ot` the bai's J J and J' J' as the points V Y' are brought together is to compress the spring S with a constaiitly-inereasing power, depending upon the varying angularity ot" the bars. It is also obvious that as the sprin S is compressed its resistance increases in proportion to the compression, and that also some resistance is experienced in unlatehing the spring-latches G G', and the object of the arrangement of the bars J J and J J', together with the pulleys and cord K, is to furnish an increasing' leverage, which shall in a great degree be adjustably proportioned to the increasing' resistance of the spring, so that more strength will be required of the operator to commence the operation of coinpressing the spring than would be required to finish that compression and trip the springlatches. Heretofore in all devices of this character, when operated by a spring of metal, rubber, or compressed air, the difficulty inherent to the nature of motive power of requiring a constantly-increased strain on the part of the operator to operate the motor has existed. The consequence is that many times the opei'ator would be compelled to make several pulls upon the cord or lever or other means of operation before he would finally succeed in setting' the cai'i'iage in inotion. lVith my improvement the greatest power is required in overcoming the first strain of the spring. Thereupon the leverage increases so rapidly over the increasing tension of the spring that the subsequent opera- 4; tion, when the first resistance is once over- I come, is far easier, pleasanter, and more cerused. It is also obvious that the same effect could be produced with but oneI pair of the bars J J', provided the point of attachment with the plunger E was suitably guided. It is also obvious that, the form of the levers J' J" J .lV might be varied; also, a ditlerentl inode ol' operating them, as by attaching' thc cord to the end ol' one of the bars extended be- `yond the txed pivot, without departing from the spirit of my invention. l prefer, however, the form shown.

After the plunger E has been extended and the work performed ot' cmnpressing the spring S, the weight \\r will tend to draw the point downward,and thus retract the'plunger E. On the return of the cai'riage l), should the plunger E not be retracted, it; will be engaged by and. guided into the thimble F, when the slight stroke of the carriage ag'ainst the plunger, aided by the weight W, will at once place the parts in their original position and the carriage D will impinge against the mouth oi' the tube I3 and be' engaged by the latches G when the operation of propelling it along' the wire way can be i'cpcated.

Having thus described. my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Pat.- ent, is-

l. The combination of the latches G G',

having the lugs thereon, with the plunger E, g having the adjustable nut, whereby the movement of the plunger operates to loose the latches, substantially as described.

i. In a store-service apparatus, the combi nation of the carriage adapted to travel on a way, carrying the propelling-spring for driving said carriage, spring-latches for holding said carriage in position while said propellin gspriiig is being compressed, a plunger located at either end of said way to actuate said propelling-spring, an adjustable nut thereon to loose said latches, and the levers, substantially as described, for overcoming the resistance of said spring and springlatches, all constructed and operating substantiall y as described and shown.

RALZEMOND A. PARKER.

\\vitnesses:

CHARLES F. BURTON, Enii'cxn DANIEL.

IOO 

